California 2013-2014 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly 1 D cosponsors

AB 975 — Health facilities community benefits.

Last action — Died on inactive file.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2013-2014 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law makes certain findings and declarations regarding the social obligation of private nonprofit hospitals to provide community benefits in the public interest, and requires these hospitals, among other responsibilities, to adopt and update a community benefits plan for providing community benefits either alone, in conjunction with other health care providers, or through other organizational arrangements. Existing law requires each private nonprofit hospital, as defined, to complete a community needs assessment, as defined, and to thereafter update the community needs assessment at least once every 3 years. Existing law also requires the hospital to file a report on its community benefits plan and the activities undertaken to address community needs with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Existing law requires the statewide office to make the plans available to the public. Existing law requires that each hospital include in its community benefits plan measurable objectives and specific benefits. This bill would declare the necessity of establishing uniform standards for reporting the amount of charity care and community benefits a facility provides to ensure that private nonprofit hospitals and nonprofit multispecialty clinics actually meet the social obligations for which they receive favorable tax treatment, among other findings and declarations. This bill would require a private nonprofit hospital and nonprofit multispecialty clinic, as defined, by January 1, 2016, to develop, in collaboration with the community, a community benefits statement, as specified, and a description of the process for approval of the community benefits statement by the hospital's or clinic's governing board, as specified. This bill would require the hospital or clinic, prior to adopting a community benefits plan, to complete a community needs assessment, as provided. The bill would authorize the hospital or clinic to create a community benefits advisory committee for the purpose of soliciting community input. This bill would require the hospital or clinic to make available to the public a copy of the assessment, file the assessment with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and update the assessment at least every 3 years. This bill would also require a private nonprofit hospital and nonprofit multispecialty clinic, by April 1, 2016, to develop a community benefits plan that includes a summary of the needs assessment and a statement of the community health care needs that will be addressed by the plan, and list the services, as provided, that the hospital or clinic intends to provide in the following year to address community health needs identified in the community health needs assessments. The bill would require the hospital or clinic to make its community health needs assessment and community benefits plan or community health plan available to the public on its Internet Web site and would require that a copy of the assessment and plan be given free of charge to any person upon request. This bill would require a private nonprofit hospital or nonprofit multispecialty clinic, after April 1, 2016, every 2 years to revise and submit its community benefits plan to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, as specified, and would allow a hospital or clinic under the common control of a single corporation or other entity to file a consolidated plan, as provided. The bill would require that the governing board of each hospital or clinic adopt the community benefits plan and make it available to the public, as specified. This bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to develop and adopt regulations to prescribe a standardized format for community benefits plans, as provided, to provide technical assistance to help private nonprofit hospitals and nonprofit multispecialty clinics exempt from licensure comply with the community benefits provisions, to make public each community health needs assessment and community benefits plan and any comments received regarding those assessments and plans, and to calculate and make public the total value of community benefits provided by hospitals, as specified. This bill would authorize the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to assess a civil penalty, as provided, against any hospital or clinic that fails to comply with these provisions. This bill would make conforming changes. Under existing law, patients with high medical costs who are at or below 350% of the federal poverty level are eligible to apply for participation under a hospital's charity care policy or discount care policy. A patient with high medical costs is defined as a patient who, among other things, does not receive a discounted rate from the hospital as a result of his or her third-party coverage. This bill would delete that limitation from the definition of a patient with a high medical costs.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Died on inactive file.

  2. Ordered to inactive file at the request of Assembly Member Wieckowski.

  3. Reconsideration granted. (Page 1885.)

  4. Motion to reconsider made by Assembly Member Wieckowski.

  5. Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 28. Noes 38. Page 1848.).

  6. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  7. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  8. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 5.) (May 24).

  9. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  10. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. pursuant to Assembly Rule 96.

  11. Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

  12. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. Read second time and amended.

  13. Re-referred to Com. on REV. & TAX.

  14. Read second time and amended.

  15. From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on REV. & TAX. (Ayes 12. Noes 7.) (April 2).

  16. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.

  17. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HEALTH. Read second time and amended.

  18. Referred to Coms. on HEALTH and REV. & TAX.

  19. Read first time.

  20. From printer. May be heard in committee March 26.

  21. Introduced. To print.

Sponsors

  • Wieckowski · Primary
  • Mia Bonta · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 120 not signed on · 9 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Wieckowski

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (120)

120 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 120 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 975 WIECKOWSKI Assembly Third Reading

Failed 28 Yea · 38 Nay · 13 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 2631011
Democratic 2302
Republican 0400
Total 2838013
% of votes cast 35%48%0%16%
How each member voted (79)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Bloom — Not Voting
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brown — Not Voting
Buchanan — Not Voting
Holden — Not Voting
Levine — Nay
Linder — Nay
Mansoor — Nay
Nestande — Nay
Pan — Not Voting
Perea — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Williams — Yea
Stone — Yea
Fox — Nay
Atkins — Yea
Gatto — Nay
Mitchell — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chau — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Gorell — Nay
John A. Pérez — Yea
Hall — Not Voting
Harkey — Nay
Gray — Nay
Alejo — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Logue — Nay
Maienschein — Nay
Medina — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Morrell — Nay
Chesbro — Nay
Ammiano — Yea
Chávez — Nay
Conway — Nay
Cooley — Nay
Daly — Nay
Dickinson — Yea
Donnelly — Nay
Eggman — Nay
Nazarian — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Weber — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Bocanegra — Not Voting
Salas — Not Voting
Lowenthal — Not Voting
Mullin — Not Voting
Frazier — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Gordon — Not Voting
Hagman — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Nay
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Not Voting
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Garcia, Robert Democratic Not Voting
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Nay
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 11 Yea · 5 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 10501
Democratic 1000
Total 11501
% of votes cast 65%29%0%6%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Harkey — Nay
Linder — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Weber — Yea
Bocanegra — Yea
Campos — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Hall — Not Voting
Donnelly — Nay
Eggman — Yea
Pan — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Ammiano — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Bradford — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Revenue and Taxation.

Passed 12 Yea · 7 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 1000
Unaffiliated 11700
Total 12700
% of votes cast 63%37%0%0%
How each member voted (19)
Member Party Vote
Logue — Nay
Maienschein — Nay
Mansoor — Nay
Pan — Yea
Chesbro — Nay
Bonilla — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Nestande — Nay
Wagner — Nay
Wieckowski — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Gordon — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

healthcare health-insurance
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 975 do?
Existing law makes certain findings and declarations regarding the social obligation of private nonprofit hospitals to provide community benefits in the public interest, and requires these hospitals, among other responsibilities, to adopt and update a community benefits plan for providing community benefits either alone, in conjunction with other health care providers, or through other organizational arrangements. Existing law requires each private nonprofit hospital, as defined, to complete a community needs assessment, as defined, and to thereafter update the community needs assessment at least once every 3 years. Existing law also requires the hospital to file a report on its community benefits plan and the activities undertaken to address community needs with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Existing law requires the statewide office to make the plans available to the public. Existing law requires that each hospital include in its community benefits plan measurable objectives and specific benefits. This bill would declare the necessity of establishing uniform standards for reporting the amount of charity care and community benefits a facility provides to ensure that private nonprofit hospitals and nonprofit multispecialty clinics actually meet the social obligations for which they receive favorable tax treatment, among other findings and declarations. This bill would require a private nonprofit hospital and nonprofit multispecialty clinic, as defined, by January 1, 2016, to develop, in collaboration with the community, a community benefits statement, as specified, and a description of the process for approval of the community benefits statement by the hospital's or clinic's governing board, as specified. This bill would require the hospital or clinic, prior to adopting a community benefits plan, to complete a community needs assessment, as provided. The bill would authorize the hospital or clinic to create a community benefits advisory committee for the purpose of soliciting community input. This bill would require the hospital or clinic to make available to the public a copy of the assessment, file the assessment with the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and update the assessment at least every 3 years. This bill would also require a private nonprofit hospital and nonprofit multispecialty clinic, by April 1, 2016, to develop a community benefits plan that includes a summary of the needs assessment and a statement of the community health care needs that will be addressed by the plan, and list the services, as provided, that the hospital or clinic intends to provide in the following year to address community health needs identified in the community health needs assessments. The bill would require the hospital or clinic to make its community health needs assessment and community benefits plan or community health plan available to the public on its Internet Web site and would require that a copy of the assessment and plan be given free of charge to any person upon request. This bill would require a private nonprofit hospital or nonprofit multispecialty clinic, after April 1, 2016, every 2 years to revise and submit its community benefits plan to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, as specified, and would allow a hospital or clinic under the common control of a single corporation or other entity to file a consolidated plan, as provided. The bill would require that the governing board of each hospital or clinic adopt the community benefits plan and make it available to the public, as specified. This bill would require the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to develop and adopt regulations to prescribe a standardized format for community benefits plans, as provided, to provide technical assistance to help private nonprofit hospitals and nonprofit multispecialty clinics exempt from licensure comply with the community benefits provisions, to make public each community health needs assessment and community benefits plan and any comments received regarding those assessments and plans, and to calculate and make public the total value of community benefits provided by hospitals, as specified. This bill would authorize the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to assess a civil penalty, as provided, against any hospital or clinic that fails to comply with these provisions. This bill would make conforming changes. Under existing law, patients with high medical costs who are at or below 350% of the federal poverty level are eligible to apply for participation under a hospital's charity care policy or discount care policy. A patient with high medical costs is defined as a patient who, among other things, does not receive a discounted rate from the hospital as a result of his or her third-party coverage. This bill would delete that limitation from the definition of a patient with a high medical costs.
Who sponsors AB 975?
AB 975 is sponsored by Wieckowski and Bonta, Mia (Democratic).
What is the current status of AB 975?
This bill died with 2013-2014 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 975?
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